Thursday, April 30, 2020
Eye On Taiwan
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 12:25 PM PDT
Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/26/2020 By: Hsieh Ching-wen and Joseph Yeh  New Taipei, April 26 (CNA) A junior high school baseball team from Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan beat its rival from northern Taoyuan Sunday to win the county's first championship title in the Hsieh Kuo-cheng Cup for 21 years, gaining a berth to represent Taiwan in the Little League Baseball's (LLB's) Junior League Baseball Asia-Pacific Regional Tournament scheduled to be held in July. Taitung's Pei Nan Junior High School triumphed over Taoyuan's Hsin Ming Junior High School with a 3-1 score at New Taipei's Sanchong Baseball Stadium in a game that was played behind closed doors on account of fears over the COVID-19 coronavirus. The team's head coach, Huang Kuei-yu (黃貴裕), attributed the hard-earned victory to the joint efforts of the team's two left-handed pitchers, Huang Yu-yao (黃宇耀) and Huang Chin-hao (黃錦豪). Starting pitcher Huang Yu-yao gave up one run in five innings, with four strikeouts and four hits, while Huang Chin-hao, meanwhile, had two scoreless innings as a reliever, giving up one hit and no runs. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 12:22 PM PDT
Fubon FLOURISH: The Guardians hit three homers to edge out the CTBC Brothers 5-4 yesterday, with closer Chen Hung-wen chalking up a save in the final inning
Taipei Times Date: Apr 27, 2020 By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter 
The Uni-President Lions’ Lin An-ko hits a solo home run during their game against the Rakuten Monkeys in Tainan yesterday.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times Although Rakuten’s first baseman has had hot hands to start the season, he cooled off somewhat last night, picking up only one hit in four at-bats as his team slumped to second straight defeat to the roaring Lions. The Monkeys on Friday had made history with their seventh consecutive win, breaking their own 2011 record of six wins to start a season, behind a pitching gem by starter Wang Yi-cheng in a 14-4 rout of the Lions in Tainan. However, the Lions have awoken from their early-season slumber, scoring 20 runs over the weekend against Rakuten pitching staff and winning 12-5 yesterday. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 12:18 PM PDT
Focus Taiwan
Date:\ 04/26/2020 By: Su Ssu-yun, Tsai Peng-min and Chiang Yi-ching 
CNA file photo
Effective from midnight Sunday, the state-run petroleum refiner CPC Corp., Taiwan will cut its retail gasoline prices per liter by NT$0.9 (US$0.03) and NT$1.0 per liter for diesel, it said. After the adjustments, prices at CPC pumps will drop to their lowest levels since February 2000, with NT$16.1 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$17.6 per liter for 95 octane unleaded and NT$19.6 per liter for 98 octane unleaded, according to CPC data. For super diesel, retail prices will be lowered to NT$13 per liter, the lowest since November 1999, CPC said. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 12:15 PM PDT
COMPETITIVE RATES: Interest rates from the five state-run banks last month fell to 1.5 percent, which the central bank attributed to competition among lenders
Taipei Times Date: Apr 27, 2020 By: Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporter New home mortgages from five major state-run banks last month reached the highest level for March, while the average interest rate on new housing loans hit a record low, central bank data released on Thursday showed. Total new mortgages granted by Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) and First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) increased 15.83 percent month-on-month and 15.5 percent year-on-year to NT$53.69 billion (US$1.78 billion) last month, the data showed. For the first quarter, total new mortgages extended by the banks amounted to NT$138.3 billion, down 16.6 percent from the previous quarter, but up 5.95 percent from a year earlier, the data showed. The increase in mortgages issued last month reflected recovering demand in the domestic housing market after the Lunar New Year holiday. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 12:11 PM PDT
rthk.hk
Date: 2020-04-26 
Firefighters managed to put out the blaze in around half an hour. Photo: AFP
Reports say more than 50 people were hurt – two critically – and were rushed to hospital. Local media reports say the blaze started on the fifth floor of a 14-floor building on Linsen North Road, at a branch of the karaoke franchise Partyworld. The first nine floors of the building belong to the karaoke branch. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 12:01 PM PDT
Straits Times
Date: April 26, 2020 By: Jan Lee 
Linda Chien (left), who is a co-host with Show Lo (right) on variety programme 100% Entertainment, posted an apology online to Lo’s ex-girlfriend Grace Chow.PHOTOS:
The rumoured third party between the couple, Linda Chien Kai-le, 36, one of Lo's co-hosts on long-running variety programme 100% Entertainment, has come out to apologise to Chow. Chien, also known as Butterfly Sister from her early stint as a children's programme presenter, posted the apology on Saturday night (April 25). "I would like to sincerely apologise to Miss Grace Chow here and to say sorry to all those who love me," she wrote. Chien's post is widely seen as an indirect confirmation that she was one of Lo's sexual partners outside of his relationship with Chow. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 11:54 AM PDT
Dongshi District: a nice place to admire fireflies and lotus flowers
Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/26 By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer 
(Taichung City Government photo)
Dongshi, which can be reached via the Dongfeng Bicycle Green Way, has a lot to offer cooped up city dwellers during the COVID-19 pandemic. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 11:50 AM PDT
Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/26/2020 By: Lee Hsien-feng and Evelyn Kao  Taipei, April 26 (CNA) An annular solar eclipse will take place on this year's summer solstice on June 21, available to be seen in parts of Taiwan, with the Taitung County government planning to hold a public event for the eclipse that day. The astronomical phenomenon occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, covering the sun's center and leaving the sun's visible outer rim, or corona, to form an annulus around the moon, according to Yang Yi-ching (楊義清), president of the Taitung Astronomical Association. The eclipse will start at about 2:51 p.m. and end at 5:26 p.m., with people in parts of Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung Nantou, Hualien and Taitung, as well as the outlying Penghu and Kinmen islands able to see 98 percent of the sun covered during the process, while those in other areas will only find the sun at around 94 percent dark, according to Yang. The spectacle will not occur again until 2070 in Taiwan, when the eclipse will pass through only parts of Pingtung. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 11:47 AM PDT
Taipei Times
Date: Apr 27, 2020 By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter township mayor was detained after a massive operation in a probe into alleged graft and bid-rigging by public officials in Kaohsiung. Namasia Township (那瑪夏) Mayor Payan Islituan was detained, 28 people were questioned and two contractors were released on bail over the weekend after more than 100 investigators on Thursday searched 35 locations. Payan was detained pending charges over breaches of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), leaking confidential information and other offenses in the Criminal Code, said Hsieh Chao-ching (謝肇晶), head prosecutor at the Ciaotou District (橋頭) Prosecutors’ Office. Four contractors allegedly paid NT$5 million (US$166,223) to secure bids on public projects, Hsieh said. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2020 11:43 AM PDT
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Date: April 26, 2020 By:: Jovic Yee – Reporter MANILA, Philippines — For her “nasty and malevolent” posts against President Rodrigo Duterte, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) based in Taiwan will be deported to face charges of cyberlibel. According to Labor Attaché Fidel Macauyag, caregiver Elanel Ordidor will be flown back to the country because her Facebook posts against Duterte were intended “to cause hatred amid the global health crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.” When labor officials went to Ordidor’s workplace in Yunlin County on Monday to tell her of the charges she might face for her posts, she “committed to delete all her uploaded videos against the President and promised not to do it again,” Macauyag said. She also promised to issue a public apology, he added. “However, hours after the visit, several posts were seen on the Philippine Overseas Labor Office Taichung Facebook page from several fake accounts (supporting her) cause,” Macauyag said, adding that labor officials learned that the caregiver was using four other accounts and a group “to discredit and malign the President and destabilize the government.” [FULL STORY]  |
Eye On Taiwan
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:15 PM PDT
Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/26/2020 By: Hsieh Ching-wen and Joseph Yeh  New Taipei, April 26 (CNA) A junior high school baseball team from Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan beat its rival from northern Taoyuan Sunday to win the county's first championship title in the Hsieh Kuo-cheng Cup for 21 years, gaining a berth to represent Taiwan in the Little League Baseball's (LLB's) Junior League Baseball Asia-Pacific Regional Tournament scheduled to be held in July. Taitung's Pei Nan Junior High School triumphed over Taoyuan's Hsin Ming Junior High School with a 3-1 score at New Taipei's Sanchong Baseball Stadium in a game that was played behind closed doors on account of fears over the COVID-19 coronavirus. The team's head coach, Huang Kuei-yu (黃貴裕), attributed the hard-earned victory to the joint efforts of the team's two left-handed pitchers, Huang Yu-yao (黃宇耀) and Huang Chin-hao (黃錦豪). Starting pitcher Huang Yu-yao gave up one run in five innings, with four strikeouts and four hits, while Huang Chin-hao, meanwhile, had two scoreless innings as a reliever, giving up one hit and no runs. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:12 PM PDT
Fubon FLOURISH: The Guardians hit three homers to edge out the CTBC Brothers 5-4 yesterday, with closer Chen Hung-wen chalking up a save in the final inning
Taipei Times Date: Apr 27, 2020 By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter 
The Uni-President Lions’ Lin An-ko hits a solo home run during their game against the Rakuten Monkeys in Tainan yesterday.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times Although Rakuten’s first baseman has had hot hands to start the season, he cooled off somewhat last night, picking up only one hit in four at-bats as his team slumped to second straight defeat to the roaring Lions. The Monkeys on Friday had made history with their seventh consecutive win, breaking their own 2011 record of six wins to start a season, behind a pitching gem by starter Wang Yi-cheng in a 14-4 rout of the Lions in Tainan. However, the Lions have awoken from their early-season slumber, scoring 20 runs over the weekend against Rakuten pitching staff and winning 12-5 yesterday. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:08 PM PDT
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/28 By: prnasia.com HSINCHU, Taiwan, April 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — MediaTek has announced it will enable YouTube video streams using the cutting-edge AV1 video codec on the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 5G SoC. The MediaTek Dimensity 1000 is the world's first smartphone SoC to integrate an AV1 hardware video decoder, enabling it to play back AV1 video streams up to 4K resolution at 60 fps. With its improved compression efficiency, AV1 gives users incredible visual quality and smoother video experiences, while using less data. Video streaming is the number one activity in smartphone use, so by using the Dimensity 1000's more power efficient hardware-based AV1 video decoder, users can enjoy longer battery life while still streaming at the best quality settings. Combined with its ultra-fast 5G connectivity in a single chip, the Dimensity 1000 leads the industry in design and capability. "MediaTek is engaged in consistently upgrading its offerings to enhance user experience, and AV1 technology is a prime example. Video is now the most used form of communication, with 70% of Millennials and Gen Z reportedly using streaming services," said Dr. Yenchi Lee, Assistant General Manager of MediaTek's Wireless Business Unit. "Industry reports state that the video streaming market is likely to expand at a CAGR of 19.6% and touch $124.57 billion by 2025, and it is one of the principle drivers of 5G services. MediaTek is leading the way in enabling effective video streaming with AV1." The AV1 video codec is creating a landmark change in the video streaming industry. First released in 2018 by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), AV1 is royalty-free, crafted to replace the VP9 codec and become the Internet Video Codec (NETVC) standard. AV1 is an ultra-high-performance video codec technology that delivers 30% more compression efficiency over existing VP9. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:05 PM PDT
British vlogger picks apart Nathan Rich's assertion that Taiwan is part of China
Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/28 By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer 
Caricature of Nathan Rich. (YouTube, DREAM清醒夢LUCID screenshot)
In his latest YouTube video uploaded on Sunday (April 26), Christopher Raymond Hall, who goes by the handle DREAM清醒夢LUCID, itemized and refuted each of Rich's claims in a video about China's supposed sovereignty over Taiwan. Hall started out by introducing Rich, an American and former Scientologist who now works in Beijing as a propagandist for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In response to Rich's claim that "Taiwan is not a nation," Hall pointed out that Taiwan has its own currency, military, flag, president, and democratic legislature. After Rich claimed "Taiwanese separatists" were attacking the World Health Organization (WHO), Hall retorted that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has rejected the proposed "one country, two systems" framework, declaring that Taiwan and China are in fact "two countries, two systems." Rich then went on to say that "Taiwan is not a country, Taiwan is not a nation, it is not a sovereign state. And that's not just my opinion. That's just a fact." In disgust, Hall said, "You may be OK selling your soul to the CCP, but I am not." [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:01 PM PDT
Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/28/2020 By: Wu Po-wei, Chen Yi-hsuan, Chen Wei-ting and Ko Lin 
CNA file photo.
Speaking during a radio interview, he said that the 19 million daily output is only a conservative estimate, expressing optimism that the 22 additional production lines could exceed that number once they are running smoothly. Taiwan currently produces 17 million masks a day on 92 lines, according to Shen. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Taiwan was only capable of producing 1.8 million masks per day, but through the government's initiative to install additional machines needed to boost production, daily output has surpassed the 10 million mark after mid-March. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 02:56 PM PDT
EXPECTATIONS: Gross margin is likely to improve to 31 to 33 percent this quarter, but chairman Fang Leuh said that the second half of the year remains very uncertain
Taipei Times Date: Apr 29, 2020 By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter 
The Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp logo is pictured at the company’s headquarters in Hsinchu on Jan. 9.
Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei Times Net profit was NT$1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. Despite the quarterly decline, net profit rose 6.4 percent annually from NT$1.39 billion. Earnings per share fell to NT$0.89 from NT$0.91 the previous quarter, but rose from NT$0.84 a year earlier. Gross margin dipped to 31 percent last quarter from 36.1 percent the previous quarter, as well as in the first quarter of last year, the company said in a statement. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 01:30 PM PDT
Radio Taiwan International
Date: 28 April, 2020 By: Paula Chao 
Congressional friendship group donates 2,300 gowns to Osaka
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, DPP lawmaker Kuo Kuo-wen said his association has mailed 2,300 gowns to Osaka. Kuo says Osaka desperately needs protective medical gowns. The city is short of medical gowns and often uses raincoats instead. Kuo says there is a serious need for medical supplies there and Taiwan should send donations to help out. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 01:25 PM PDT
The Globe And Mail
Date: April 28, 2020 By: Steven Chase 
People wear face masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19 as they ride on a bus in Taipei last week. The island has proven extremely successful at containing COVID-19, with only 429 infections and six deaths as of Tuesday, and this has left it in a position to extend medical assistance to other countries.
CHIANG YING-YING/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Taiwan, a democracy of more than 23 million people, has been prevented from taking part in World Health Organization activities to fight COVID-19 because of Beijing, which regards the jurisdiction as a renegade province. The island has proven extremely successful at containing COVID-19, with only 429 infections and six deaths as of Tuesday, and this has left it in a position to extend medical assistance to other countries. Taiwan’s donation of medical supplies to Canada is the latest in a string of gifts from Taipei to other jurisdictions, from the United States to Japan to the European Union, as the island practices what’s being called “mask diplomacy.” [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 01:20 PM PDT
Those who have experienced sleepwalking, semi-conscious movements not to be prescribed these medications
Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/28 By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer 
File photo, a drugstore employee reaches for medicine from shelf. (AP photo)
The four medications are eszopiclone, zaleplon, zolpidem, and zopiclone. The last three are currently listed in Class IV drugs, meaning they are available only by prescription. FDA division chief Hung Kuo-teng (洪國登) said that while these four drugs are most commonly prescribed for insomnia, there have been reports in various countries about their side effects, which include sleepwalking. So far, the agency has received around 200 complaints across Taiwan, including reports of sleepwalking and even sleepdriving. Fortunately, no major accidents related to these drugs have been reported. According to official data, over 4 million people around the country take some form of sleeping pill each year. [FULL STORY]  |
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Posted: 28 Apr 2020 01:16 PM PDT
Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/28/2020 By: Joseph Yeh Angelito T. Banayo, chairman and resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural 
Angelito T. Banayo, chairman and resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office. CNA file photo.
Taipei, April 28 (CNA) The Philippines top envoy to Taiwan said Monday he has not received instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte to arrange the deportation of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Taiwan to Manila for allegedly libeling the president online. In a phone interview with CNA, Angelito T. Banayo, chairman and resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), said he would have received the instructions had they been issued but had not received any such directives to date. He also noted that deporting anybody from Taiwan is the sovereign right of the host government and is "not within the prerogative of a foreign government like the Philippines," which MECO represents in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties. "So the question of deportation is something that only the Taiwanese government can decide upon," he said. [FULL STORY]  |
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